- Grady Diangana scored his fifth goal of the season as West Brom edged Leeds
- Farke was convinced Wilfried Gnonto should have been awarded a penalty
- Chris Sutton and Ian Ladyman give their best sporting moments of the year on It’s All Kicking Off
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan punched the air with delight as he enjoyed a hard-fought first win against former club Leeds United.
Grady Diangana grabbed the all-important goal via his knee on his final Championship appearance at The Hawthorns before heading off to the African Cup of Nations with Congo.
Albion dug in when Leeds sent on star substitutes Dan James and Patrick Bamford and though they remain fifth in the Championship table, they are now only two points behind their visitors who are a position higher in the play-off places.
Daniel Farke‘s side have had a miserable festive season having also lost at Preston on Boxing Day.
They are now nine points adrift of an automatic promotion spot and both Farke and Wilfried Gnonto were angry the winger didn’t get a penalty for a challenge by Cedric Kipre that VAR might have given were it used in the second tier.
Grady Diangana scored the only goal as West Brom earned a narrow win over Leeds United
Leeds boss Daniel Farke was convinced the visitors should have been awarded a penalty
‘Why should an Italian international fall down one-against-one with the goalkeeper,’ bemoaned the Leeds manager. ‘I think people in the stadium saw it..’ Spaniard Corberan, who first came to England in 2017 to work alongside Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road for three years, couldn’t have asked for greater effort from his players.
‘You can only beat Leeds by being a real team. A strong team in which everyone plays with a lot of spirit,’ he said.
‘The commitment was key. You have to play with personality. In the second half they were aggressive with a lot of attacking players and we had to defend until the end.’ Jed Wallace, who helped set up the winner after 37 minutes, summed up the Baggies confident mood: ‘We know good we are at home and we’re buzzing,’ he said.
He was released by an outstanding pass from Okay Yokusulu before cutting back for Diangana.
Though the winger’s first effort was blocked by Joe Rodon the rebound fell kindly to him and struck his knee before flying past Karl Darlow, making his Championship debut for The Whites for the suspended Illan Meslier. ‘It doesn’t matter how they go in,’ smiled Diangana after his fifth goal of the season.
He and Nigerian international Semi Ajayi are available for the New Year’s Day game at Swansea and next week’s FA Cup tie against non-league Aldershot but then will disappear for at least five league games to represent their countries.
Albion hardly got a kick for the first 20 minutes but Leeds couldn’t make their early dominance count with Sam Byram’s sidefoot finish correctly ruled out for offside.
The home side gradually showed their attacking teeth. Djed Spence cleared off the line from Kipre before Diangana struck from eight yards.
Leeds, who had recalled Italian international Gnonto as one of five changes, appealed loudly for a spot-kick but it was only when Bamford, James and Jaidon Anthony arrived after an hour that they put on concerted pressure.
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan was able to celebrate a first victory over his former club
Remarkably, all three substitutes combined in one move but Anthony spoiled the fairytale ending by hooking Bamford’s lay-off wide.
Farke needs to rally his troops who couldn’t break down the second-best defensive record in the league.
‘It was a tight game as you’d expect between two teams who are neighbours in the table,’ he said. ‘It was clear the team which scored first would get a big advantage. Compliment to West Brom who showed a great commitment to defend.
‘We just missed that final one or two per cent in their penalty area. The brutality needed to finish.’
